First and foremost I hope that everyone is well and that the past year has treated you kindly.

It has been some time since I made an appearance on this board. Due in part to financial difficulties I have had to put my martial arts training on hold, it will be one year since October that I have last been in the dojo/dojang or "on the mat" and boy do I ever miss it. One year of school left and then hopefully I'll find a job in my field paying enough to pay back my accumulated student debt and start training in martial arts again. I'd be lying if I said I've been trying at home during this time, between school, work and time to breathe I just do not have the time to commit. Martial arts is incredibly expensive so I've been filling my "me" time with latin dancing (both nightculb and ballroom) which costs me less than $500/year (nothing compared to the bill marital arts can run living in downtown Toronto - not a lot of small, "family run" type schools around here). I enjoy dancing but I have felt at a loss without martial arts. I hope to get back into it soon.

Of course, I returned to these boards for a reason, to seek advice. Time permitting I hope to return to "poster status" on these boards as I don't like asking for advice if I'm not willing to return the favour to anyone else.

I'm here with - well with a lot of related/unrelated questions. Please bear with me and I thank anyone who makes it through tmy long winded post o the end. I appreciate any sort of suggestions anyone may have.

I'm looking for relieving/preventative suggestions for myofascial pain syndrome aka muscle knots. Back in Februaruy I visited the doctor with severe headaches along with other symptoms which I address later. After about a month of sitting on the edge of my seat through appointments with a neurologist followed by CT scans I can say I do not have a brain tumor. After a whole series of tests the docotr finally settled on the most obvious solution - muscle tension. She prescribed massage therapy With a prescription my extended health coverage does cover a portion of the costs but I have to claim everything at the end of the coverage year. I can't afford to front the costs intially, I can barely afford my rent. I have some really tight muscle knots. At least 7 I can think of off the top of my head that are at least the size of a golf ball causing an emmense amount of discomfort and a tension headache that I've had for almost 6 months now. They are all located in my back/neck/shoulders. I cannot remember the last time when I wasn't in pain. It is to the point now that I have become extremeley irritable because of it. Is there anything I can do at home that won't cost me anything to relieve this?

Of course muscle tension isn't enough, my body further needs to retaliate on my with tale bone. I don't remember when it started or what I did to myself to make it start I just no for at least 6 years now I have had problems sitting for longer than 30mins without severe pain in my tailbone. Is there anything I can do to increase the amount of time I can sit without extreme discomfort?

Along with the tale bone I have lower back problems which I attribute to muscle tension. I do yoga and meditate daily but when in poses that stretch the back, specifically lower back and the area should below the should blade behind the neck there is a wave of pain through my body that literally knocks the wind out of me. I wake up in the morning feeling like I've been hit with a freight train even after I bought a new mattress and pillow. During a street festival I had my posture analysed by a chiropractor. Right ear is higher than the left ear (head tilts to the right when I think I am holding my head upright, left hip is higher than the right hip and I stand with 40lbs more weight on my right foot than I do with my left - of course I'm sure everyone's spine was twisted that day, she was advertising her clinc at a street festival for a reason, not like I can afford to see a chiropractor anyways. Do you think this lower back/hip pain related to the muscle tension that is cuasing my muscle knots or is the muscle tension because of the lower/back hip problem? Is there anything I can do at home to realieve this?

I've run out of ideas on what I could do to allievate the pain I'm in 150% of the time. I can't afford to see a massage therapist, chiropractor, pysiotherapist what have you even if it's covered because it's not covered up front. Forking out the cash means no groceries or not paying my phone bill that month even if I'll get it back at the end of the year.

That's the birds eye view of the msucle pain I have anyways.

A doctor doesn't send you to a neurologist just for headaches of course which is the next part of why I'm here. The doctor has no idea what the cause of this is and I'm hoping maybe someone here may have experienced this or know what may cause it. Certain pitches of sound at high volumes will cause me to get extreme vertigo. The floor will start to feel like it's moving, the room starts spinning .. and well anyone who has experienced vertigo will know what I'm talking about. It's odd because the inner ear isn't connected to sound in a manner that would cause this, so why is certain pitches/volumes of noise causing me to almost black out, anyone have any ideas?

Anyone with low blood pressure who has ever stood up too quickly will know the sensation of the "fuzzy head" and blackening vision caused by a rush of blood to the legs. This happens to me frequently, at least twice a day usually more. Usually I just wait it out and within a few seconds I'm fine with only a minute amount of nausea and a briefly severe headahce. The "dizzy spells" when standing aren't unusual but they happen to me everyday and are accelerated and made worse if I stretch immediately after or as I'm standing. Is this just as I think, low blood pressure, or may it be something else, possibly related to some of my other "problems" previously discussed.

As a note I do have Hypothyroid Disorder however my TSH levels have been normal for almost half a year.

To anyone who made it through my post to this sentance thank you for bearing with me. I appreciate all responses I can get ... and for the record I have seen a doctor .

Wow. On the upside you are not a horse- if you were, I would have you shot

The knots in your back have come about due to your sedentary lifestyle- by this I mean you are at school, studying hard, and I bet sat your a$$ reading/writing for long periods of time. Your posture when sitting is probably poor, causing the tension build up in your back muscles, that in turn translate into your tension headaches. The real warning sign is in your description of tailbone pain- good sitting posture puts zero pressure on the tailbone, you should sit with your back straight, angled forward at the hips, with your 'seat' being the lower portion of your buttocks. Sitting with your back slouched rounds out your lower back, and causes pressure to be focussed on your tailbone. Try it now- sit up tall and lean forward at the hips- i bet you are sitting on a completely different area of the backside.You have to pay conscious effort to re learning this sitting position so it becomes second nature, and it is always a natural urge to slouch- you just have to fight that tendency as much as possible.

as for breaking down the muscle fibrosis, deep tissue massage and ultrasound are the only way to do it, but regular heat and stretching/mobilisation will help. modify your yoga/MA warm up stretches to comfort levels, and work on improving your range of motion, especially your work on the cat stretches (all fours, arching your back both concave and convex)and your hamstrings- tight hamstrings are the worst enemy of postural alignment.

You should also work on basic core exercises like ab crunches and supermans to keep your muscles strong as well as supple.

I cant comment on your sonic related vertigo- not my field I am afraid, though I would think it to do with the balance mechanisms in your inner ears as an educated guess. I am sure you doctors will come up with something if you keep on at them.

Low BP dizzy spells are very common, a good idea is to stamp you feet or do fast seated heel raises just prior to standing up- this helps return blood from the extremties and counter act the dip in pressure as you stand up, minimising the lack of oxygen to the brain.

When at study, ensure you take a break 5 mins out of every 40, stand, move around stretch and mobilise, when you sit down again, take time to ensure you are sitting correctly.

This advice will cost nothing to follow, but it will not offer a cure. It may offer some relief and will prevent things getting worse however.

Hope it works out for you, let me know if you need any expansion or further help

Hi Christie,First off, welcome back. I know what it's like to miss out on a year or more of training, not fun. I'm sorry that I cannot help with any of your problems, I just wanted to wish you the best in healing and everything else.

_________________________
We should all take ourselves seriously...and then crumple that image up and toss it out the window.

Quote:Wow. On the upside you are not a horse- if you were, I would have you shot

Yes! Spared from Cord's wrath

Quote:studying hard, and I bet sat your a$$ reading/writing for long periods of time.

Theoretically speaking ...

It's not when I'm studying because on the rare occasion I am sitting at my desk I sit on a stability ball forcing me to sit upright. It's at work, commuting etc. that I have the problem. I get lazy from sitting correctly if I have something to lean back on ... chairs in the classroom are also less than adequate.

Thank you for the advice Cord. My biggest problem is "superwomen syndrome." I won't stop unless someone forces me to. I will modify my Yoga routine instead of repeating positions that hurt the most purposely. I'm the kind of person that will go skydiving solely because I'm afraid of heights (so worth it though!!)

Quote:Hi Christie,First off, welcome back. I know what it's like to miss out on a year or more of training, not fun. I'm sorry that I cannot help with any of your problems, I just wanted to wish you the best in healing and everything else.

Thank you Joel

I'm going to try and post more often, not so much on martial arts training right now but on the topics surrounding them. There is more to be gained from this board then most realize. The best forum I've ever been to and returned to.

I'd also like to welcome back my fellow Canadian. Other then these I hope everything comes together for you and you get better and the finicial thing also gets better.

No answers here as I'd hate to give you the wrong direction with something like this as it is out of my scope of things and I could only speculate. Cord is the most knowledgeable on her so hopefully what he can provide helps some.

Take care Christie and hope to see more of you.

_________________________"IF I COME ... I'M BRINGING THE PAIN WITH ME"

I get vertigo because of certain pitches and certain volumes. I also have had "unexplained" headaches for over a decade. I say unexplained because I have had multiple CT scans that showed no nervous system inflammations or tumors. After my daughter was born and subsequently diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, pieces starting falling in order and I got an answer about my headaches and dizziness.

Aspergers Syndrome and other neuro-atypical syndromes can cause vestibular system problems, as well as a serious sensitivity to light and sound. Light and sound easily set off vertigo and splitting headaches in me.

Read up on Aspergers Syndrome and see if it fits you because it is a possible source of your problem. It will be immediately apparent if you're an Aspie or not once you read about it.

Thank you Borrek. I did look up Aspergers Syndrome and it's not really similar to what I'm experiencing now. It doesn't really worry me, I just think its weird and would be intereted to know for curiosty's sake what causes it.